P.R. Laws tit. 17, § 1470
In the evaluation, analysis, consideration, award, renegotiation, and revision of any incentive or benefit granted under this chapter, the Department of Housing and the Secretary thereof shall be required to oversee and ensure compliance with the governing principles stated below:
(a) Jobs.— The incentivized rental housing project and the owner thereof shall promote the creation of new jobs.
(b) Sound and safe integration.— The conceptual design and planning of the rental housing project shall be carried out, first of all, taking into account environmental, geographical, and physical aspects as well as the materials and goods that are abundantly available in the site where it is to be developed. Safe development shall be ensured to prevent catastrophic damages caused by potential natural disasters.
(c) Commitment to economic activity.— The incentivized rental housing project and the owner thereof shall acquire raw materials and products manufactured in Puerto Rico for the construction, maintenance, renovation, or expansion of the incentivized housing project, in all or in part of the items of materials used in the construction or rehabilitation of housing, as specified by the Secretary. If the purchase of said products cannot be financially justified when taking into account criteria such as the quality, quantity, price, or availability of these products in Puerto Rico, or if he determines it could be credited through an energy efficient or green building certification, the Secretary of Housing may issue a certificate attesting to such fact.
(d) Commitment to agriculture and the environment.— The incentivized rental housing project and the owner thereof shall not affect and/or mitigate any adverse effect that the operation thereof may have on land of high agricultural and environmental significance. The Secretary of Housing shall evaluate the particularities of each case and may issue a certificate attesting to such fact.
(e) Transfer of knowledge.— The incentivized rental housing project and the owner thereof shall acquire services from professionals or companies with a presence in Puerto Rico. However, if this is not possible due to criteria such as availability, experience, specificity, or skill, or any other valid reason recognized by the Secretary of Housing, the owner of the incentivized rental housing project may acquire such services through an intermediary with a presence in Puerto Rico, which shall contract directly with the service provider chosen by the owner of the incentivized rental project, in order to receive the requested services.
The term “services” shall mean, but the list below shall not be construed as limiting the Secretary of Housing to include others by regulations, the contracting of jobs related to:
(1) Surveying, the production of construction plans, as well as engineering and architectural designs, and related services;
(2) construction and all that pertains to this sector;
(3) financial, environmental, technological, scientific, management, marketing, human resources, information technology, and auditing consulting services;
(4) advertising, public relations, commercial art, and graphic design services; and
(5) security or facility maintenance.
(f) Financial commitment.— The incentivized rental housing project and the owner thereof shall submit proof that they use the services of, and that they deposit a significant amount of the income derived from their economic activity in, banking and/or cooperative institutions with a presence in Puerto Rico. If the financial activity cannot be financially justified when taking into account criteria such as the availability or accessibility of these institutions in Puerto Rico, or when federal funds, subsidies, or grants have been awarded, the Secretary of Housing may issue a certificate attesting to such fact. The Secretary of Housing shall be the sole official responsible for verifying and ensuring that the incentivized housing projects and the owners thereof meet the eligibility requirements established in this section and in this chapter. If the incentivized rental housing project partially meets the requirements established in this section, the Secretary of the Department of Housing shall be required to establish a formula that allows for the quantification of the aforementioned factors, and for the subtraction of the requirement that has not been met from the total percentage of the specific credit, in order to obtain the exact percentage of the benefit in question. The governing principles established in this section shall apply to every new incentivized rental housing project that applies for any of the benefits granted under this chapter after December 1 st, 2015. However, the provisions of this section shall apply to any petition made by any incentivized rental housing project and the owner thereof that has not been signed and completed prior to the aforementioned date.
History —Aug. 23, 1996, No. 165, added as § 2 on Nov. 17, 2015, No. 187, § 56.